Innovative Research Research Articles

Digital Communication in work and family life in Europe

ABSTRACT This special issue brings together innovative research on the use and implications of digital communication in work and family life. It examines the context dependence of the use of digital communication and the consequences for work-family integration and conflict in a comparative design. It also broadens the perspective to new technological developments. The editorial gives an overview of the existing literature and presents the main findings of the articles in this special issue. It also provides initial descriptive information on digital communication with children, parents, line managers and colleagues, based on the initiated module on ‘Digital Social Contacts in Work and Family Life’ in the European Social Survey Round 10. There are apparent differences across European countries, social groups (age, gender, migration background, class) and with respect to the inclusion in the labor market (in paid employment, working from home, occupational status). Overall, the special issue demonstrates that digital communication in work and family life is interrelated, is inherent to gendered strategies to combine work and family, and is also a matter of digital skills, emotional and physical closeness and the institutional context. Work-family conflict enhancing implications are identified but do not seem to be an indispensable attribute.

State‐owned equity participation and corporate green innovation: evidence from Chinese private enterprises

This study examines the influence of state‐owned equity participation on green innovation in private enterprises. Using the data of China's A‐share private listed companies between 2009 and 2021, the paper finds that state‐owned equity participation has a positive impact on corporate green innovation and this finding remains consistent and dependable after conducting a series of robustness tests. In addition, this paper also uncovers that the impact of state‐owned equity participation on corporate green innovation differed across regions, industries, and external corporate governance. The results show that the incentive impact of state‐owned equity participation on green innovation is more pronounced in private enterprises with higher levels of intellectual property protection in the region where they are located, belonging to high‐tech industries and with higher media attention. Further mechanism analysis reveals that state‐owned equity participation enhances corporate green innovation by improving the fulfilment of corporate environmental responsibility and alleviating corporate financing constraints. Overall, this study enriches the research of green innovation influencing factors from the perspective of minority state‐owned equity and can help to inspire governments to make full use of state‐owned equity to promote the green transformation of private enterprises, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the global economy.

Research on the Sensing Properties and Vibration Reduction Performance of Self-Sensing Self-Tuning Magnetic Fluid Damper

Abstract The semi-active control damping system has gained popularity due to its quick response time and versatility. However, external sensors are susceptible to environmental interference, affecting system reliability and increasing complexity and maintenance costs, restricting their use. To address this, a self-sensing self-tuning magnetic fluid damper is proposed. The vibration-measuring induction coil is wound on the damper to sense the magnetic fluid vibration information in real time, and the vibration signal is communicated to the self-tuning control circuit. The control circuit calculates and determines the dominant frequency of structural vibration, then outputs the relevant current signal to set the damper's natural frequency to track the excitation frequency, resulting in self-tuning vibration reduction. First, the self-sensing unit's output induced electromotive force model is created, followed by an expression of the damper's natural frequency, indicating that the self-sensing unit can achieve self-tuning vibration reduction by tracking the excitation frequency. The multi-field coupling simulation model of the magnetic fluid damper is generated, and the induction coil coupling mode and damper excitation angle are defined to obtain the maximum induced voltage.
Finally, an experimental platform was developed to assess the damper's self-sensing and self-tuning vibration reduction performance. The experimental results demonstrate that the suggested self-tuning magnetic fluid damper exhibits excellent self-sensing capabilities and effectively reduces vibrations. This offers an innovative research concept for using magnetic fluid in self-sensing technology and vibration reduction domains.

Exploring and investigating the complementarity and multidimensionality of innovation for sustainability research: Past present and future

Innovation and sustainability are distinct but complementary topics, and hence, complex, multidimensional, and multidisciplinary. It is thus natural that research on ‘innovation for sustainability’, though important, is largely scattered and unstructured. This article aims to rectify this gap by developing a systematic study, quantitatively depicting the knowledge structure and the intellectual progress of innovation for sustainability in the business management literature. To this end, we applied bibliometric analysis to study 1842 innovation for sustainability articles from the ‘Web of Science’ database. Our robust methodology included deploying the document co-citation analysis, co-word analysis, and thematic evolution to trace the intellectual structure and conceptual structure of the innovation for sustainability field. Further, through a thorough qualitative content analysis, we developed a comprehensive conceptual framework comprising drivers, innovation practices, and performance indicators of innovation for sustainability. Additionally, we examined the latest trending articles based on total local citations (TLC) and total global citations (TGC) to delineate the potential future research directions. Overall, thus, this research contributed to the innovation for sustainability literature by combining a tripartite methodology of bibliometric analysis, qualitative content analysis, and analysis of trending articles to determine the intellectual structure and potential future research directions.

Learning on a Limb: An outreach module to engage high school students in orthopaedics

AbstractOrthopaedic researchers need new strategies for engaging underrepresented minority (URM) students. Our field has demonstrated noticeable gaps in racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, which inhibit our ability to innovate and combat the severe socioeconomic burden of musculoskeletal disorders. Towards this goal, we designed, implemented, and evaluated Learning on a Limb (LoaL), an orthopaedic research outreach module to teach URM high school students about orthopaedic research. During the 4‐h module, students completed hands‐on activities to learn how biomechanical testing, microcomputed tomography, cell culture, and histology are used in orthopaedic research. Over 3 years, we recruited 32 high school students from the Greater Philadelphia Area to participate in LoaL. Most participants identified as racial/ethnic or gender minorities in orthopaedic research. Using pre/post‐tests, we found that students experienced significant learning gains of 51 percentage points from completing LoaL. In addition to teaching students about orthopaedic research, post‐survey data demonstrated that participating in LoaL strongly influenced students' interest in orthopaedic research and scientific confidence. Several students acted on this interest by completing summer research experiences in the McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. LoaL instructors also benefited by having the opportunity to “pay it forward” to the next generation of students and build community within their department. Empowering institutions to host modules like LoaL would synergistically inspire URM high school students and strengthen community within orthopaedic departments to ultimately enhance orthopaedic research innovations.

Quantifying the Emergence of Basic Research Capabilities in Cluster Enterprises: An Analytical Framework Based on Information Entropy

This study looks at how basic research capabilities develop within enterprise clusters, focusing on the complex and adaptive nature of these systems. It builds a conceptual model using systems theory and applies information entropy to measure how much these capabilities have emerged. This study introduces an innovative application of information entropy to model and quantify the emergence of research capabilities within enterprise clusters, offering a novel framework for assessing research development. To dive deeper, China Pingmei Shenma Group (Henan, China) was used as a case study. A case study approach was used to gather empirical data. This case—focused on a state-owned enterprise cluster in China’s coal-based energy and chemical industries—highlights the key factors that influence research capability growth. These factors include support from external systems, how internal resources are used, and their renewal over time. From 2017 to 2022, the study tracked how the organization of research capabilities evolved over time by tracking changes in entropy, revealing the process of research development driven by both internal and external forces. The methodology involves measuring system entropy to evaluate the degree of orderliness and innovation performance, incorporating entropy generation and exchange metrics, which allows for a more precise understanding of system emergence and complexity. The interactions within the system, such as knowledge exchange, research collaboration, and external input from government subsidies or tax incentives, are modeled to track how they influence the system’s overall entropy. This study finds that the ability of an enterprise cluster to bring in external resources and reduce internal inefficiencies is critical for enhancing research capabilities. This model can help policymakers and enterprises in strategic decision-making, particularly in industries undergoing technological transformation. This framework also provides practical insights for improving research collaboration and innovation in enterprise clusters, especially in rapidly evolving industries like energy and chemicals.

The role and empirical research of innovation and entrepreneurship education in cultivating college students' entrepreneurial skills and innovation ability

This article aims to explore the role of innovation and entrepreneurship education in cultivating entrepreneurial skills and innovative capabilities among college students, and supports this claim through empirical research. It first introduces the definition and importance of innovation and entrepreneurship education, emphasizing its role in fostering students' innovative thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurial potential. Then, from the perspective of students, it discusses the effects of innovation and entrepreneurship education on enhancing their entrepreneurial intentions, knowledge, and skills.

Exploration and Innovative Research on Ideological and Political Education in Architectural Mechanics Course

The emphasis and implementation of ideological and political education in courses lie within the courses themselves, ensuring effective education through the process of course implementation and playing a role in nurturing students. This paper explores the elements of ideological and political education in the architectural mechanics course. It provides a detailed design of ideological and political education in accordance with the course content and characteristics. Additionally, innovative designs incorporating ideological elements are introduced for parts of the course. Finally, an application exploration is conducted within the sections of the course, specifically focusing on the subtopic of “rigid frames”, with the hope of providing reference value to related courses.

Why Do Things Burn? Elizabeth Fulhame's Challenge to the Antiphlogistic Theory of Combustion.

Motivated by her interest in fabric arts, late-eighteenth-century British chemist Elizabeth Fulhame experimentally investigated whether cloths of gold, silver, and other metals could be made by chemical rather than mechanical processes. In contrast to other women studying science at this time, she not only published an original monograph under her own name that challenged both the phlogistic and antiphlogistic views of combustion but also proposed an alternative explanation for oxidation and reduction. Although her contemporaries widely cited her innovative research, her history is not well known, yet a careful analysis of her work provides further insights into the reception of the antiphlogistic theory and the challenges and limitations experienced by women in chemistry during this period.

Diverse reactivity of maleimides in polymer science and beyond

AbstractMaleimides are remarkably versatile functional groups, capable of participating in homo‐ and copolymerizations, Diels–Alder and (photo)cycloadditions, Michael additions, and other reactions. Their reactivity has afforded materials ranging from polyimides with high upper service temperatures to hydrogels for regenerative medicine applications. Moreover, maleimides have proven to be an enabling chemistry for pharmaceutical development and bioconjugation via straightforward modification of cysteine residues. To exert spatiotemporal control over reactions with maleimides, multiple approaches have been developed to photocage nucleophiles, dienes, and dipoles. Additionally, further substitution of the maleimide alkene (e.g. monohalo‐, dihalo‐, thio‐, amino‐ and methyl‐maleimides, among other substituents) confers tunable reactivity and dynamicity, as well as responsive mechanical and optical properties. In this mini‐review, we highlight the diverse functionality of maleimides, underscoring their notable impact in polymer science. This moiety and related heterocycles will play an important role in future innovations in chemistry, biomedical, and materials research. © 2024 The Author(s). Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Precision Cut Lung Slices: Emerging Tools for Preclinical and Translational Lung Research. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

The urgent need for effective treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases underscores the significance of developing innovative preclinical human research tools. The 2023 ATS Workshop on Precision Cut Lung Slices (PCLS) brought together 35 experts to discuss and address the role of human tissue-derived PCLS as a unique tool for target and drug discovery and validation in pulmonary medicine. With increasing interest and usage, along with advancements in methods and technology, there is a growing need for consensus on PCLS methodology and readouts. The current document recommends standard reporting criteria and emphasizes the requirement for careful collection and integration of clinical metadata. We further discuss current clinically relevant readouts that can be applied to PCLS and highlight recent developments and future steps for implementing novel technologies for PCLS modeling and analysis. The collection and correlation of clinical metadata and multiomic analysis will further advent the integration of this preclinical platform into patient endotyping and the development of tailored therapies for lung disease patients.

Museums in Action: How Museums are redefining their Role in European Projects

An innovative and detailed analysis of the role of museums in European Union-funded projects is presented in this article, based on a thorough search of the European CORDIS database. The study explores how museums have transformed from being passive custodians of cultural heritage to becoming dynamic and multifunctional actors in European research and innovation. Through a systematic analysis of European projects funded in the 2007-2022 period, the article highlights the growing participation of museums in various EU programs, the varied roles they assume-from beneficiary partners to associate collaborators-and their impact in key areas such as education, research, digitization and technological innovation. This research provides both quantitative and qualitative insights into museums' involvement in shaping European cultural identity and policy development. The paper is of particular interest to policy makers, museum professionals and cultural heritage researchers, offering a unique perspective on the evolving role of museums in the European context and future opportunities for collaboration and funding.

Progress in Agronomic Crops Lodging Resistance and Prevention: A Review

ABSTRACTCrop lodging is recognised as one of the yield‐limiting factors in agricultural production. Therefore, better understanding to improve lodging resistance and to prevent lodging‐induced losses in agronomic crops is necessary. Besides yield losses, lodging severely affects the crop harvesting process and increases the production cost. However, achieving the objective of higher crop yields and yield quality without increasing lodging risk is quite challenging. To this end, it is essential to interpret the underlying mechanism of plant stem buckling and failure of root anchorage and optimise the fundamental trade‐off between lodging resistance and yield performance in agronomic crops. In the present review, we made an effort to discuss recent and innovative research insights that guarantee greater lodging resistance along with advanced lodging prevention strategies while sustaining higher crop yield and yield quality.

Implementing regional blue economy research and innovation strategies: a case study for the Black Sea

The Black Sea is a vital resource with vast potential to boost the societal value of the Blue Economy for its surrounding countries. Improved knowledge and enhanced infrastructure together with better coordination and alignment of research and innovation efforts are critical for the better management of the deteriorated Black Sea ecosystem to help restore and maintain its resilience and enable sustainable use of natural resources. In 2019, the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (Black Sea SRIA), was developed by the Black Sea experts, in cooperation with European marine institutes and organizations, with the support of the European Commission. Black Sea SRIA presents the priorities and ecosystem-based management options needed for a healthy, sustainable, and resilient Black Sea. Since 2019, efforts focused on developing concrete actions under the Black Sea SRIA Implementation Plan (IP) to contribute to the national blue economy strategies, better structuring of the relevant funding mechanisms for solution-oriented implementation and the international and regional strategies, supporting the co-funding mechanisms. In this study, we present a transnational process that has led to the development of the IP which utilized a bottom-up, co-design and co-creation-based approach. The SRIA and its IP support better governance of the blue economy principles towards sustainable development and conservation of unique Black Sea ecosystems. The Black Sea SRIA and IP address the fundamental research challenges of the region, promote the blue economy, and also build vital support systems and innovative research infrastructure and capacity together with academia, funding organizations, industry, policy, civil society and local communities. The IP is a long-lasting guide to catalyze new ideas and innovations towards and with the Black Sea community with strong implications for other sea basins.

The Next Frontiers of Digital Innovation Research

The Next Frontiers of Digital Innovation Research

A Well‐Advanced High‐Throughput Test System for Electrocatalytic Screening Applications Under Industrial Relevant Conditions – A Perspective to Accelerate Electrolysis Research and Development

ABSTRACTElectrolysis is a dynamic research area in which both mature and new promising processes, such as alkaline water electrolysis and electrochemical CO2 reduction, are under enormous development pressure due to their high relevance for the energy sector. High‐throughput (HT) technologies are efficient screening platforms that can accelerate research activities and significantly shorten development times. Over the past 25 years, various HT platforms have found their way into electrochemical research. These typically have one or more major disadvantages: they are characterized by abstract experimental conditions, designed for a specific application or process, or generate insufficiently comparable data. In this publication, we present a newly developed HT test system that enables the parallel operation of 16 electrochemical bench‐scale flow cells under industry‐relevant test conditions. The specially developed modular flow cell can be operated variably in the fully automated system and allows research into the most common applications in electrochemistry for many different processes with a focus on all relevant variants of water electrolysis and electrochemical CO2 reduction. Both the HT system and the developed flow cell are designed to accelerate the generation of reliably reproducible data with high comparability in order to strengthen scientific exchange. The fully automated process control, online analysis and programmable feedback loops of the HT test system provide great potential for the design of experiment strategies. The implementation of Design of Experiment strategies will maximize the testing efficiency of this innovative research system.

Pre-Planning and Post-Evaluation Approaches to Sustainable Vernacular Architectural Practice: A Research-by-Design Study to Building Renovation in Shangri-La’s Shanpian House, China

The renovation and revitalization of vernacular architecture are pivotal in sustainable rural development. In regions like Shangri-La, traditional structures not only safeguard cultural heritage but also provide a foundation for enhancing local communities’ living conditions. However, these villages face growing challenges, including infrastructure decay, cultural erosion, and inadequate adaptation to modern living standards. Addressing these issues requires innovative research approaches that combine heritage preservation with the integration of contemporary functionality. This study employs a research-by-design approach, focusing on the Shanpian House as a case study, to explore how pre-planning and post-evaluation methods can revitalize traditional vernacular architecture. The pre-planning phase utilizes field surveys and archival research to assess spatial, cultural, and environmental conditions, framing a design strategy informed by field theory. In doing so, it evaluates how traditional architectural elements can be preserved while introducing modern construction techniques that meet current living standards. The post-evaluation phase, conducted through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, assesses user satisfaction, focusing on the impact of architectural esthetics, structural stability, and material choices. Key findings from an OLS regression highlight the strong positive correlation between architectural style, structural choices, and cultural relevance with resident satisfaction. The research emphasizes that design elements such as structural details, materials, and infrastructure upgrades are critical in shaping perceptions of both functionality and cultural identity. Interestingly, the model reveals that improving architectural esthetics, alongside modern indoor features such as network connectivity, has a significant impact on enhancing overall resident satisfaction (significance level: 0.181). This study contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable building renovation by demonstrating how traditional architecture can be thoughtfully adapted for contemporary use and also proposes a paradigm shift in the renovation of historic buildings, advocating for a balance between preservation and modernization. The application of sustainable materials, digital modeling, and innovative construction techniques further ensures that these traditional structures meet the demands of modern civilization while maintaining their cultural integrity.

Hydrogen Materials and Technologies in the Aspect of Utilization in the Polish Energy Sector

Currently, modern hydrogen technologies, due to their low or zero emissions, constitute one of the key elements of energy transformation and sustainable development. The growing interest in hydrogen is driven by the European climate policy aimed at limiting the use of fossil fuels for energy purposes. Although not all opinions regarding the technical and economic potential of hydrogen energy are positive, many prepared forecasts and analyses show its prospective importance in several areas of the economy. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of modern materials, current hydrogen technologies and strategies, and show the opportunities, problems, and challenges Poland faces in the context of necessary energy transformation. The work describes the latest trends in the production, transportation, storage, and use of hydrogen. The environmental, social, and economic aspects of the use of green hydrogen were discussed in addition to the challenges and expectations for the future in the field of hydrogen technologies. The main goals of the development of the hydrogen economy in Poland and the directions of actions necessary to achieve them were also presented. It was found that the existence of the EU CO2 emissions allowance trading system has a significant impact on the costs of hydrogen production. Furthermore, the production of green hydrogen will become economically justified as the costs of energy obtained from renewable sources decrease and the costs of electrolysers decline. However, the realisation of this vision depends on the progress of scientific research and technical innovations that will reduce the costs of hydrogen production. Government support mechanisms for the development of hydrogen infrastructure and technologies will also be of key importance.

A Call for Innovative Translational and Clinical Research to Address China's Unique Cancer Landscape.

The Chinese government has, in recent decades, implemented various administrative laws and regulatory policies to expedite cancer therapeutic development, boosting research and development pipelines for domestic pharmaceutical companies and clinical trials; however, China faces unique challenges given the high prevalence of certain cancer types and distinct disease burdens, some of which are frequently overlooked by international pharmaceutical companies. Given the substantial unmet need for China-specific cancer care, it is crucial to promote the development of innovative pharmaceutical and clinical research in China, with a particular emphasis on addressing tumors most prevalent in its population.

Leveraging Federated Learning for Privacy-Preserving Analysis of Multi-Institutional Electronic Health Records in Rare Disease Research

This research announces that the fresh federated learning structure is designed to enhance the privacy-preserving analysis of electronic health records (EHRs), and multiple institutions in this framework permit secure collaboration among institutions, allowing them to train machine-learning replicas without directly sharing patient data. We implemented and evaluated numerous machine-learning models to forecast patient treatment needs, including Logistic Regression, Decision-Tree-Classifiers, Support-Vectors-Classifiers, Random-Forests, and Stacking-Classifiers. The Random Forest classifier achieved the best performance with an accuracy of 90% and an F1 score of 80%, demonstrating that it handled complex and imbalanced datasets. This FL-based approach not only complies with privacy regulations such as HIPAA and GDPR but also overcomes significant challenges in data sharing, making it ideal for rare disease research. By enabling secure data aggregation across institutions, the framework significantly enhances the ability to study rare diseases and accelerates the discovery of new treatments. Future directions include extending this framework to other areas of healthcare and incorporating advanced machine-learning techniques to enhance its capabilities further. This research sets the new standard for secure and collaborative healthcare data analysis and promotes innovation and ethical practices in rare disease research.